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Frontiers Records is pleased to announce the release of the anticipated second album from the swedish aces of melodic rock WORK OF ART « In Progress » on August 23rd in North America and August 26th in Europe.

Following the much acclaimed debut record « Art Work », WORK OF ART have not been resting on laurels. While main songwriter and guitarist Robert Sall contributed heavily to the success of the W.E.T. project with Jeff Scott Soto and Erik Martensson and singer Lars Safsund kept busy singing on other projects, WORK OF ART have been working hard to create the foundations of another amazing piece of music. « A lot of blood, sweat & tears went into the making of this album and I think it shows. Maybe we didn’t change the formula all that much» tells Robert Sall, «but we certainly made sure to write, perform and produce at our very best and I think we’ve taken a huge step forward on In Progress ».

And in reality “In Progress” gives the Melodic Rock fans exactly what they’re looking for, with songs that stick in the ears from the first second and amazing musical licks. The new album shows three musicians who have matured a lot their abilities and gel together in a very natural way, presenting a sound which – still encompassing different influences – is now defined and recognizable as their own.

“This time we are definitely planning to play live in support of this record and we’re set up for our live debut so, the wheels are in motion!” promises Sall. So watch out for further news from the Swedish rockers!

The first single “The Great Fall” will be exclusively distributed in Sweden through Sweden Rock Magazine in the issue that will hit the streets on July 19th. This special release will include two exclusive acoustic bonus tracks (unavailable elsewhere) : « Once Again » and « Until You Believe ».

“In Progress” will include the following songs:

The Rain; Nature Of The Game; Once Again; Never Love Again; Eye Of The Storm; Until You Believe; The Great Fall; Call On Me; Emelie; Fall Down; Castaway; One Step Away. Includes bonus videoclip: The Great Fall.

Last week I received an exceptional birthday gift from my wife. She surprised me with the complete Baseball documentary series, the film by Ken Burns. This is something I’ve wanted for a long time, but could never justify the cost. Thankfully, my wife is awesome.

While watching the first disc of the set, I became enamored by something (a young) Bob Costas stated. In paraphrasing his words, the statement he made that resonated so deeply with me was this: There are few things in life that we become interested in at an early age that we keep an interest in until the day we die. He was obviously referring to baseball, but that statement started me thinking. What things in life have I been obsessed with since an early age that I will be interested in until death?

Baseball, needless to say, is one of those things. Music is another. Specifically, hard rock/heavy metal music. I was 8 years old when I got into Kiss. I was 9 when I fell in love with Def Leppard (specifically the Pyromania album). I was 5 when I started listening to Bob Seger’s Night Moves on a regular basis. There are not many things in life that go back that far with me that I still love. Music, my parents, baseball, and cartoons would pretty much sum it up. Women came a little later and everything else came much later (cars, writing, Stephen King, horror films, etc.) The other things I obsessed over at that early an age have long since fallen to the wayside.

Hard rock hit me at a young age and my love affair has grown ever since. From Kiss and Def Leppard, I transgressed to Van Halen. After that it was AC/DC (through my cousin). AC/DC gave way to Iron Maiden. That set the groundwork for hair metal and the anxiety alleviating bands like Metallica, Anthrax, and Suicidal Tendencies. By high school, I knew I was hooked for life. Hard rock was always going to be my music medium of choice.

That’s not to say that I don’t like other types of music, because I do. Some of the music I love, readers of Hard Rock Hideout would possibly ridicule me for (it’s okay, I can take it). However, even though I love that “other” music dearly, it always comes back to hard rock. Ingrained in my soul since the age of 5, rock and roll is a powerful medium that has gotten me through most of life’s journey.

How many things do we obsess over at an early age and take with us to the grave? Not many, but for me, heavy metal fits that bill. Is it the same for you? Have you been in love with rock and roll since infancy? It’s a powerful, lifelong bond that will never end, will always be defended, and will never let us down.

A band that could stand to have a monster 2011 is Rival Sons. Rival Sons new album, Pressure and Time will be released on June 28th. On this day, Classic Rock is going to get a major kick in the pants. Check out the tune “Get What’s Comin” below and let us know what YOU think about Rival Sons. You can check out more tunes from the band on their Facebook page.